He said Android devices are the kind of phones that are given as free replacements to feature phones, and that the iPhone offers a more seamless experience

Samsung's hardware and Google's Android operating system have become the peanut butter and jelly of the tech world -- they're a great fit, and it looks like this popularity is starting to make Apple nervous.

Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told The Wall Street Journal today that the iPhone is better than any Android-powered phone in terms of both hardware and software, and that iPhone users are happier with their devices than Android users.

Schiller said that four times as many iPhone users switched from an Android device in the fourth quarter in 2012 than the other way around. He also mentioned a survey from ChangeWave, which stated that three-quarters of iPhone users say they're "very satisfied" with their experience while only half of Android users say the same.

Schiller's rant didn't end there. He said that Android's fragmentation was "plain and simple" and that Android-powered devices are the kinds of phones that are given as free replacements to feature phones.

Schiller added that the iOS experience on an iPhone is much more smooth than that of an Android phone because Apple is responsible for both the hardware (iPhone) and operating system (iOS).

Apple's Phil Schiller

"When you take an Android device out of the box, you have to sign up to nine accounts with different vendors to get the experience iOS comes with," Schiller said. "They don't work seamlessly together."

He then took a more hardware-directed hit, saying that no other Android smartphone screen compares to that of the iPhone 5's.

"Given the iPhone 5 is so thin and light, the reason that people are making their devices bigger is to get up to the battery life the iPhone 5 offers," Schiller said.

The Samsung Galaxy S III was a wildly-popular Android phone, and with the added specs of the Galaxy S IV, Apple is likely feeling nervous about its own popularity in the market.

Apple has hard a hard time keeping up the momentum of its products, and it shows in the company's shares. Shares have fallen from $702.10 in September to $428.35 as of today. Also, Apple's iPhone only represented about 19 percent of worldwide smartphone shipments in 2012 while all Android-powered smartphones accounted for about 70 percent.

Android will even beat Apple in the tablet sector this year, according to a new report from IDC. According to IDC, iPad shipments are expected to make up 46 percent of the tablet market for 2013, down from 51 percent in 2012. Android-powered tablets are expected to increase their market share to 49 percent in 2013, up from 42 percent in 2012.

Apple and Google are even branching out to another competitive realm in mobile electronics: wearable technology. Google is now offering its Google Glass headset (which is an augmented reality device) for $1,500 to early adopters and Apple is developing a smart watch, which could be released as early as this year.

Yeah, I found this to be quite odd. Apple execs don't usually even like to mention their competitors that often (unless it relates to litigation). But to just bring them up on the eve of a major product launch? From Phil Schiller no less?

This fuckwit has never used an Android handset so he couldn't possibly know what he's talking about.

quote: "Given the iPhone 5 is so thin and light, the reason that people are making their devices bigger is to get up to the battery life the iPhone 5 offers," Schiller said.

HUH? The iPhone feels like a brick! It's heavy as hell, and is anything but "thin". And the only reason the iPhone has better battery life is due to the small screen, and lack of true multitasking.

What the hell is this guy even talking about? I expect someone of his stature to pose better arguments than the crap you see from Tony/Takin clones on blogs. But maybe this explains perfectly where they get it from...

Brick? You must be talking about the iPhone 4 or 4S. The iPhone 5 is only 112 grams, whereas the Galaxy S3 is 133 grams. In defense of Samsung, the S3 is only 9 grams/sq.in and the iPhone 5 is 10 grams/sq.in.

Yes, the iPhone 5 has a smaller screen, but it also has less real estate for a battery. The iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 have almost the same ratio of battery capacity to screen size (iPhone 5 = 128 mAh/sq.in, Galaxy S3 = 140 mAh/sq.in). As Schiller stated, Apple's control over all of the hardware and the OS yields some benefits... managing power usage is one of them. The downside is that you only have 1 choice if you want an iPhone.

I think the competition between Samsung and Apple is healthy for the industry. We will all benefit from this competition. I use Apple products across the board at home, but I'm still excited by the Galaxy S4 specs that leaked. If Apple doesn't get near-field communication into their next phone (5S), then I will give serious thought to jumping ship. I sure would miss the seamless interplay between my iphones, computers and AppleTV.

Yes brick... square with rounded corners. At least the Samsung S3 and probably S4 has a curved back to give it a better feel in the hand.

quote: Schiller said that four times as many iPhone users switched from an Android device in the fourth quarter in 2012 than the other way around.

I would love to see the statistics on this one especially given the lack of appeal for the iPhone internationally. I wonder how many people actually stayed with Apple in 2013. I also wonder if the complaint with Android are more to do with new smartphone users vs an Android issue.

quote: As Schiller stated, Apple's control over all of the hardware and the OS yields some benefits... managing power usage is one of them. The downside is that you only have 1 choice if you want an iPhone.

I have always said that with the control Apple has they have better ROI over the life of the phone while on the S3 there are some applications that don't run as well. However with Android devices there are innovations happening with the UI that we don't see with the Apple devices.

If Apple would create a 5" screen phone and update their icon/folder filled, explorer style UI to something more innovative, then they will probably pickup more market share.

"If Apple would create a 5" screen phone and update their icon/folder filled, explorer style UI to something more innovative, then they will probably pickup more market share."

Yup. That would put it on alot of people's "short lists", mine included... I don't really get why they haven't yet. It seems to me a larger screen iPhone would sell insane volumes. It's all about choice, and some people do like smaller screens, but clearly most want the usability of larger screen. With all that todays smartphones offer (any platform, Android, IOS, Blackberry, WP8) its just such a waste to view all that great stuff through a tiny screen.

Obviously, and I guess I should have put on stupid-mode and spelled this out, I meant in RELATION to it's dimensions the iPhone feels like a brick. You're comparing it's weight to the S3, however the S3 is a MUCH bigger phone. Same thing with the width, relatively the iPhone feels much thicker than it should for such a tiny phone.

Shiller's comments are just idiotic if you look at what he's trying to say. That's my point. It's like the trolling trash-talk from some fanboi on a forum, not something you expect from an executive.

Perhaps he is referencing the shape with he says it feels like a brick. hard corners definitely feel more brick like than curved ones.

I don't really understand the "heavy as hell" comment though. As you said, most alternate platforms have a heavy flagship product. That said, perhaps he isn't comparing to a "flagship" product. Also, phone density can give the perception of a heavier phone and the iPhone is relatively heavy for its size.

The only way an iPhone could be considered thick is to throw it in a otterbox or some similar case. Seriously, modern phones are already thin enough that some are uncomfortable just because there isn't enough to hold onto. I'm not sure there is a point to getting thinner anymore. (Unless, of course, you intent to print it on your skin or clothes and wear it)

Reclaimer is so anti Apple that they could come out with a new phone this year that is an EFC Mobile on steroids (think roll out 4 x 7 screen, LTE advanced, 256 GB memory, quad core 64 bit ARM based processor coupled with a 16 core GPU, ZFS, an 8K camera on the back and front facing 2K camera, all with 72 hours operation and two month standby, in a package no larger than a half width [when the screen is collapsed] and half the weight of an iPhone 5) and Reclaimer would still claim it is crap.

Besides, did *anyone* think Apple was going to say that the new Samsung phone is better than an iPhone? Seriously, *anyone* ? Samsung execs talk to reporters/media and say how their phones are better than Apple's, but Apple does the same and the media picks it up and runs with it as Apple is being over the top and running scared. They *all* do it.

My personal opinion is that I prefer to ignore the trash talking of these VPs and CEOs no matter what company is putting out the trash.

quote: Samsung execs talk to reporters/media and say how their phones are better than Apple's, but Apple does the same and the media picks it up and runs with it as Apple is being over the top and running scared. They *all* do it.

But not Apple.

Apple has historically not gone after competitors products unless they have a shrinking market share and are worried. So this is quite telling.

Lol. Obviously you don't remember the pre-intel apple.The one that had to constantly cherry pick and fabricate benchmarks to say they were faster... They lied for years, and finally when they did switch to intel they claimed huge performance increases again :-)

yea, i'm kind of stumped on this one too. my s3 is thinner and lighter, and I always have more battery life than the other guys here with iphone 5's. (thanks to power toggles to a degree, I turn off cellular data when I'm at work and just use wifi, they always keep both on cause it's a pain to keep changing back and forth on ios)